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C ~CT 33 


SPEECH 


OF 



OK" OHIO, 


IN THE 


SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, 


Wednesday, May 19, 1897. 


WASHINGTON. 
1 8 9 7. 






<£Sr» . 










■V 





\o 


SPEECH 


OP 


HON. J. B. FOKAKER. 


Tlio Senate liaving under consideration the following resolution: 

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives, etc.. That a condition 
of public war exists between the Government of Spain and the Government 
proclaimed and for some time maintained by force of arms by the people of 
Cuba, and that tho United States of America shall maintain a strict neutral¬ 
ity between the contending powers, according to each all the rights of bel¬ 
ligerents in the ports and territories of the United States. 

Mr. FOR AKER said: 

Mr. President: The question before the Senate is on the motion 
to refer the resolution of the Senator from Alabama [Mr. Morgan] 
to the Committee on Foreign Relations. I have already spoken, 
briefly, it is true, but, nevertheless, sufficiently to show my favor 
for that motion. 

It has seemed to mo that a resolution of this importance, a reso¬ 
lution of the far-reaching consequences of this resolution, ought 
to tako the regular course, meet with thorough consideration at 
the hands of the Committee on Foreign Relations, and bo in the 
regular way reported to the Senate before the Senate should take 
action upon it; this to the end that we may havo on record as the 
predicate for our action the report of the committee embodying 
such facts as they might be able with propriety to present to this 
body. 

Having entertained that view and having expressed that opinion, 
I did not expect to speak to the merit of the resolution of the 
Senator from Alabama until after a vote had been taken on the 
motion to refer to the committee; but, sir, this debate has taken 
such range and such things have been said in this debate that I 
now feel that it will be with propriety, at least, notwithstanding 
I am a member of the committee to which, according to this 
motion, this resolution should be referred, that I should speak as 
to tho merit of the resolution itself. 

And, coming to speak upon the merit of that resolution, I want 
to say at tho outset that I propose to vote for that resolution or 
some other resolution of kindred character whenever we come to 
the point of taking a vote. 

I want to say further, Mr. President, that, in order that I may 
support that resolution, it is not necessary, according to my judg¬ 
ment, that there should be any violation by this Senate of any 
principle of international law. On the contrary, in my judgment, 
■we shall act strictly in accordance with the principles of interna¬ 
tional law in now taking tho step which this resolution provides 
shall be taken. And I speak at this time upon the merit of this 
proposition because, in view of that which has been said here, it 
seems to me very appropriate and important that it should be 
pointed out that the resolution of tho Senator from Alabama, if 
2707 3 



4 


adopted by this body, will not be adopted in violation of inter¬ 
national law, but in recognition and in consistency with the prin¬ 
ciples of international law. 

Mr. President, there are just four ways in which a foreign 
power, acting at all, can take notice of internal dissensions and 
disturbances in another country. They are: First, by a recogni¬ 
tion of independence; in the second place, by a recognition of bel¬ 
ligerency; in the third place, by a tender of friendly offices as a 
mediator, and, in the fourth place, by the drastic method sug¬ 
gested by the senior Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Hoar] yes¬ 
terday—intervention. 

Ho one pretends, I believe—at least I have not heard that any 
one does—that we could with propriety consider a proposition to 
recognize independence in Cuba. There can be no recognition of 
independence until independence shall have been achieved. No 
one claims that the independence of Cuba has yet been achieved. 

So far as mediation is concerned, that, too, may be considered 
beyond consideration in connection with the consideration of this 
proposition. We were told yesterday by the Senator from Massa¬ 
chusetts that he believed it to be the duty of this Administration 
to first propose mediation, and then, if mediation be not promptly 
accepted, to intervene and compel a cessation of hostilities and the 
establishment of peace. 

The Senator doubtless spoke in ignorance of the fact, which I 
feel myself, notwithstanding some restrictions that have been 
adverted to, at liberty to state to the Senate that mediation has 
been tendered by this Government and has been rejected by Spain. 
As long ago as April 4, 1898, Secretary Olney addressed to the 
Spanish Government, through the Spanish minister resident in 
this city, a communication, a copy of which I hold in my hand, 
of very considerable length and very great ability, in which he 
recounted the then existing conditions in Cuba, pointed out the 
necessity for a cessation of such practices as were then being re¬ 
sorted to in the prosecution of that war, and also pointed out the 
interests of the United States as prejudicially affected by that 
war, and, as the result of it all, upon that as a basis for it, ten¬ 
dered to the Spanish Government the friendly offices of the United 
States Government to secure peace in the Island of Cuba consist¬ 
ent with the dignity and the honor and the continued sovereignty 
of Spain in that island. 

I hold in my hand, also, part of the answer which some two 
months later was made by the Spanish Government to that com¬ 
munication. I read from it just one sentence. It is under date 
of June 4,1896. The answer is equally as long as the communica¬ 
tion of Mr. Olney. In it a great many things were said which I 
do not feel I should be justified in commenting upon here in public. 
At the conclusion of the argument he made in behalf of the posi¬ 
tion Spain took in rejecting that friendly mediation, the Spanish 
minister uses this sentence: 

In brief, there is no effectual way to pacify Cuba, unless it begins with the 
actual submission of the armed rebels to the mother country. 

That, Mr. President, was the end, so far as I have been able to 
discover, of the efforts on the part of our Government as a friendly 
mediator. Those efforts came to naught. They came to naught 
because of the rejection on the part of the Spanish Government 
of this friendly tender. 

2767 


6 

Reference was made yesterday to the Republican platform in 
regard to Cuba- 

Mr. HOAR. Before the Senator leaves that point, will lie allow 
mo to ask him a question? 

Mr. FOR AKER. Certainly; with pleasure. 

Mr. HOAR. I desire to ask the Senator from Ohio whether the 
tender of mediation was a tender of the good offices of this Gov¬ 
ernment to secure the independence of Cuba, or whether it was 
limited to a tender of the good offices of our Government to secure 
pacification there by the adoption by Spain of certain legislative 
or other reforms? 

Mr. FORAKER. I have not been honored with the attention of 
the Senator from Massachusetts that I complimented myself I was 
being honored with. 

Mr. HOAR. Yes; the Senator has. 

Mr. FORAKER. I stated distinctly that the tender by this 
Government to the Spanish Government was to use the good 
offices of this Government to secure peace to the island of Cuba 
on terms consistent with the dignity, the honor, and the continued 
sovereignty in Cuba of the Spanish Government. 

Mr. HOAR. If the Senator will pardon me, I understood it ex¬ 
actly so; and I wish to call the attention of the Senator—because 
the Senator perhaps has not honored me with the attention which 
I should have deemed a very great compliment if I had received 
it- 

Mr. FORAKER. I did not know that I was bound to be watch¬ 
ing the Senator while l was addressing the Senate. 

Mr. HOAR. The Senator quoted what I said yesterday. 

Mr. FORAKER, Yes. 

Mr. HOAR. What I said yesterday was that I w r as in favor of 
an offer of mediation of this Government to secure the independ¬ 
ence of Cuba. The Senator then, undertaking to take up what I 
said yesterday and referring to it, objects to that proceeding by 
quoting an offer to mediate on the terms made four or five months 
ago or a year ago, an offer to mediate on the terms of the con¬ 
tinued authority of Spain; and I asked him to restate the offer in 
that letter, in order that he might see the distinction between my 
proposition and the offer of our Government through Mr. Olney. 
When I said that the honorable Senator had not exactly listened 
to me, I referred to the remark which he was quoting, and not to 
what is going on now. 

Mr. FORAKER. The Senator from Massachusetts is laboring 
under a misapprehension when he supposes I did not understand 
him. I was speaking as to the four ways in which we might take 
notice of the fact that there was a disturbance, not to use the term 
war, in Cuba at this time. I had spoken of the fact that inde¬ 
pendence was not to be considered, for the reasons I gave. I was 
just now speaking of the fact that mediation was not to be con¬ 
sidered properly, because that effort had been made and had been 
rejected. 

I have appealed to the record to sustain me in that rospect. 
What is it the record shows—the letter of Mr. Olney and the 
answer thereto? It shows that what this Government offered to 
do was to intervene as a friendly mediator, to secure a peace con¬ 
sistent with the honor, the dignity, and the continued sovereignty 
of Spain in Cuba. Does the Senator from Massachusetts suppose 
that the Spanish Government, having rejected that proposition, 
2767 


would entertain one now based upon tlio proposition that we 
should become a friendly mediator to secure peace on condition 
that the Island of Cuba should be given independence? 

Mr. HOAR. I do. 

Mr. FORAKER. You do? You think Spain would entertain 
more favorably a proposition that she should abdicate than that 
she should continue sovereign? I submit to Senators that I need 
not dwell upon the idea I am seeking to advance, that the greater 
includes the less, and that, if Spain would not entertain a proposi¬ 
tion continuing her sovereignty, we could not expect her to enter¬ 
tain a proposition based on a condition precedent of abdication of 
authority. 

Mr. HOAR. If the Senator will pardon me one moment, I shall 
not interrupt him again- 

Mr. FORAKER. I shall be delighted to have the Senator inter¬ 
rupt me at his pleasure. 

Mr. HOAR. I shall say what I wish to say on the general sub¬ 
ject after the Senator gets through. 

It seems to me, whether reasonably or unreasonably, that Spain 
now, a year and three months or four months later, might entertain 
a proposition for intervention to secure independence, or, if she did 
not, we should have some reason to know where we stood, not¬ 
withstanding the fact that she declined to permit the mediation 
of a foreign country to determine what laws she should make for 
her subjects. 

Now, I conceive it would be a much greater loss of dignity on 
the part of the United States, if one of our States were in revolu¬ 
tion, to permit a foreign government to dictate or suggest what 
laws we should pass while she continued ours than it would be to 
suggest the impossibility of our longer maintaining our control at 
all. So, not only are the two propositions separated from each 
other by a year and three months of time crowded with important 
events, but they seem to me, with great deference to my honor¬ 
able and distinguished friend, to be different from each other in 
point of acceptability to Spain. However, I will say what I have 
to say about that later. 

Mr. FORAKER. I quite agree with the Senator from Massa¬ 
chusetts that what Spain refused to do a year or more ago she 
might be willing to do to-day- but is it reasonable—for we are 
to consider what is reasonable here—taking into consideration 
her past history with respect to this matter, to expect that a 
change of mind has overcome her? We must all remember in 
this connection that when the ten years’ war was in progress 
there the friendly offices of this Government were tendered to 
the end that peace might be secured, and they were then re¬ 
jected, but with the reservation that Spain appreciated the friend¬ 
ship manifested toward her by the United States, and would, if 
circumstances should change later in the progress of that war, 
avail herself of our friendly offices; but the whole ten years of 
that fearful struggle passed, and nothing more w*as heard from 
Spain. 

Now, in view of that fact, and in view of the manner in which 
these friendly offices were rejected, I for one deem it entirely 
unreasonable to suppose that Spain would entertain with any¬ 
more favor now than she did one year ago a tender of the friendly 
offices of this Government; and I remain yet to be convinced that 
it would add to the agreeableness, in the estimation of Spain, of 
2767 


7 


this tender if it should he based on the condition of abdication 
instead of a continuation of sovereignty. 

Therefore, to resume the argument'I was making, I, for the 
purposes of the discussion in which I intend to engage this after¬ 
noon, consider as beyond our right of consideration here two of 
the recognized methods of intervention, or taking notice of that 
which transpires in another country of a warlike character—in¬ 
dependence and mediation are to be set aside. There remains but 
the two other ways I have specified. We can take notice of that 
condition of things by the recognition of belligerency, according 
to the belligerents belligerent rights, or wo can intervene. It is 
my judgment, Mr. President, that intervention is the better, the 
shorter, the more Christian-like way to settle the difficulty in 
Cuba. 

I think the time has come when the United States Government 
would be justified in saying to Spain that the proceedings which 
have been there going on so long should, in the name of civiliza¬ 
tion, in the name of humanity, as well as because of their de¬ 
structive influences upon our interests, come to a stop, and come 
to a stoj) immediately. That is what I think. [Manifestations of 
applause in the galleries.] 

But, Mr. President, the author of this resolution has not seen 
fit to go so far. He has simply proposed by this resolution that 
we shall recognize the belligerent rights of the contending Cubans. 
That does not necessarily involve war. The insurgents in Cuba 
have no right to demand of us that we give them this recognition, 
and, on the other side, Spain has no right to complain of our 
action if we see fit to give it to them. It is an action, Mr. Presi¬ 
dent, which is to be taken at our option, having regard to our own 
interests, whenever circumstances are such as to justify us in do¬ 
ing so; and when I say whenever circumstances are such as to 
justify us in doing so, 1 mean justify us under international law— 
the international law applicable to such a case. 

What are the conditions, Mr. President, that will justify us in 
adopting the joint resolution recognizing the belligerent rights of 
the Cubans? According to all international text writers two con¬ 
ditions precedent must coexist. There must be in the first place 
war in the international sense, and in the second place we must 
have rights or interests prejudicially affected by that war, and if 
there be war and if our rights and interests bo prejudicially af¬ 
fected, then tho only remaining question is one of expediency. 
Is it expedient to do it? Is it to our interest to do it? 

I propose, in the first place, to show that there is war in Cuba 
within the meaning of international law applicable to such a case. 
I had not supposed until I heard the discussions in this Chamber 
that it was necessary to read out of lawbooks on that proposition, 
but inasmuch as that seems to be a necessity, I desire to call at¬ 
tention to what is said on this subject by one of the ablest of the 
writers on international law. I read from Professor Pomeroy’s 
book on International Law at section 230, page 287. After re¬ 
viewing other text writers who had written on that subject pre¬ 
viously, and after distinguishing their various views, he then, as a 
summing up of the whole argument and as a statement of the con¬ 
dition necessary to constitute war in its international sense, says: 

This, then, is the solo criterion. The measures which tho parent state 
uses to repress the rebellion must be something more than the ordinary civil 
means of arrest and punishment; more than the aid of the civil officers by 
2767 


the posse comitatus; more, even, than the aid of the civil power by the mili¬ 
tary. The civil means must be for a while suspended, and all coercive efforts 
must be made by the military arm. 

On the other hand, the resistance of the insurgents must be something more 
than the energies of a tumultuous mob or of unorganized multitudes.^ The 
very idea of the resistance amounting to war does demand that the insur¬ 
gents should occuny some territory which they claim as their own, and over 
which they exercise some jurisdiction; that these insurgents should be organ¬ 
ized into some form of political society, acknowledging some government that 
exercises over them supreme authority. But it can not bo necessary that 
this government should be anything more than provisional. Finally, the 
resistance itself must be military in its character. 

I might read further to the same point, but without shedding 
any additional light. The truth of the matter is, therefore, ac¬ 
cording to this authority—and I submit, without fear of success¬ 
ful challenge, that it is a standard authority, recognized all over 
the world—it is sufficient to constitute, war in the international 
sense in which we are now using that term when it is required, in 
order to enforce civil authority, that the military powers shall be 
invoiced in the sense in which the author here describes. Is not 
that true in Cuba? 

Much solicitude has been manifested as to the character of the 
civil government of the insurgents in Cuba. Has anybody de¬ 
scribed the civil government of the Spaniard in Cuba? Tho 
Spaniard has no civil government in Cuba. He has throughout 
the island, wheresoever he asserts authority at all, only martial 
law and military force. There is no pretense of any other kind of 
government. On the contrary, although it has been said that 
this is but a paper government, the fact is found and reported to 
the Senate by the Committee on Foreign Relations, and estab¬ 
lished also by communications of an official character on file in 
the State Department, that the insurgent Cubans have a thor¬ 
oughly organized Government, in the sense that they have a 
written constitution, a president and other officers of state; they 
have a cabinet; they have all the machinery necessary, if it were 
only left to itself, to administer the civil affairs of tho people and 
to entitle them to take a place among the nations of the earth. 

That is the character of the situation in that respect. What is 
it in others? We are told wo must not rely upon newspaper re¬ 
ports. I am happy in the fact that I do notliave to rely on news¬ 
paper reports. I have in my hand again the official communica¬ 
tion from the then Secretary of State, Mr. Olney, dated April 4, 
1896. in which, under all the solemnities of his official position, in 
the discharge of the high duty upon which he had entered, he de¬ 
scribes the existing conditions in Cuba as they had been thereto¬ 
fore made known to him by official communications on file in the 
Department of which he was the head. 

When a newspaper article is referred to, and a Senator says, “I 
do not choose to believe it,” that is his privilege; it is unofficial; it 
is unauthorized. You may believe it; I may disbelieve it. We 
may have different opinions about its credibility. But, Mr. Presi¬ 
dent, when the duly authorized agents of this Government in 
their official communications state facts to us, we are all alike 
bound to believe them. 

Secretary Olney believed that there existed in Cuba the con¬ 
ditions which he described. I shall read only briefly and shall 
ask permission that this paper, inasmuch as it has never been 
printed, may be published in the Record in connection with my 
remarks. 

2767 


9 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, that order 
will b8 made. 

Mr. FORAKER. Secretary Olney says to the Spanish minister: 

It is now some nine or ten months since the nature and prospects of the 
insurrection were first discussed between us. In explanation of its rapid 
and, up to that time, quite unopposed growth and progress you called atten¬ 
tion to the rainy season, which from May or June until November renders 
regular military operations impracticable. Spain was pouring such num¬ 
bers of troop3 into Cuba that your theory and opinion that when they could 
bo used in an active campaign, the insurrection would be almost instantly 
suppressed seemed reasonable and probable. In this particular you believed, 
and sincerely believed, that the present insurrection would offer a most 
marked contrast to that which began in 1868 and which, being feebly en¬ 
countered with comparatively small forces, prolonged its life for upward of 
ten years. 

It is impossible to deny that the expectations thus entertained by you in 
tho summer and fall of 1895, and shared not merely by all Spaniards but by 
most disinterested observers as well, have been completely disappointed. 
The insurgents seem to-day to command a larger part of the island than ever 
bofore. Their men under arms, estimated a year ago at from ten to twenty 
thousand, are now conceded to be at least two or threo times as many. 
Meanwhile, their discipline has been improved and their supply of modern 
weapons and equipment has been greatly enlarged, while tho mere fact that 
they have held out to this timo has given them confidence in their own eyes 
and prestige with the world at largo. In short, it can hardly be questioned 
that the insurrection, instead of being quelled, is to-day moro formidable 
than ever and enters upon tho second year of its existence with decidedly 
improved prospects of successful results. Whether a condition of things 
entitling tho insurgents to recognition as belligerents has yet been brought 
about may, for the purposes of the present communication, bo regarded as 
immaterial. 

Then lie passes on to say that it is the desire of this Govern¬ 
ment, as I have stated, only to interpose as a friendly mediator; 
but lie does not say, on the contrary, by implication—he plainly 
says the opposite—that a condition of war doe3 not exist, one that 
would justify this Government in the recognition of belligerent 
rights. Now, that was the warlike condition of the island one 
year ago, when tho Secretary of State spoke on the subject, and 
spoke from official information. 

I now have in my hand all that I am allowed to have under the 
limitations and restrictions which have been imposed upon U3 
with respect to the information that has been given the Commit¬ 
tee on Foreign Relations, but it is sufficient to show that all the 
then Secretary of State said is true, only in a stronger degreo at 
this time. There is no official communication on file in any De¬ 
partment of this Government which is not in harmony with the 
few lines I shall read; there is no communication which is not 
confirmatory of all I shall read, and there is so much on file that, 
as it has been stated in this Chamber to-day, the State Department 
will be several weeks engaged in the labor of copying and prepar¬ 
ing for the Senate the correspondence called for by the resolution 
which lias been adopted. But I say it is all comprised in tho lit¬ 
tle I shall read. 

This is of recent date, being only a few days old. It has refer¬ 
ence to a proclamation issued by General Weyler, in which ho 
claimed that the entire island, except only the province of Santiago 
do Cuba, had been pacified; and I call attention now, as I should 
have done a moment ago, to the fact that it is admitted by Spanish 
authority that the insurgents have control of the largest of tho 
six provinces of the island, and therefore they have tho footing 
necessary, according to some international law-text writers, to a 
recognition of belligerent rights. 

2707 


10 


They are not only in possession of the larger part of that prov¬ 
ince, but let me say further, while it is in my mind, that the offi¬ 
cial information of this Government sustains that which has been 
said unofficially, that the government, which it is claimed exists 
only on paper, has a postal system in operation with a high degree 
of success under the trying circumstances attending the operation 
of such a system. It has a fiscal system more satisfactory, meas¬ 
ured by the results in money in the treasury, than was the fiscal 
system of the thirteen colonies during the war of the Revolution. 

I now wish to read what I referred to a moment ago: 

I can not understand tlie truth of the claim that all the provinces of the 
island are in the main pacified, except that of Santiago de Cuba, because there 
are more insurgents under arms at this time than— 

I will leave out a word or two here to avoid identification— 
“than there were” will give the sense of it— 

ten months ago. 

That would carry you back to the time when Secretary Olney 
wrote: 

I do not think it is a fair inference to draw from existing conditions that 
the war is approaching a termination. 

This writer does not hesitate to say there is war, and to use the 
term— 

because in pursuance of an established policy the insurgents avoid as far as 
possible all serious engagements. The impossibility of expelling the Spanish 
troops from this island by force of arms is well known to them, and they do 
not propose to risk the lives of their men and the success of their cause upon 
one or more pitched battles. I conclude, therefore, that the war will drag 
its weary length along so long as the insurgents can dig sustenance from the 
ground on the one side, or money be obtained by the other, with the con¬ 
tinued result of untold human suffering, loss of human life, the murder of 
innocent men, women, and children. 

There is more that I might read to the same effect. 

The Senator from Minnesota [Mr. Davis] calls my attention 
quite properly to the fact that in a communication other than the 
one from which I read, but a communication with which the 
Senator is familiar, the organization and the number of troops of 
each and every province is given in a detailed way, and in such a 
way as to show beyond all controvertibility that there is not only 
in Cuba perhaps more than 40,000 men under arms, but that they 
are distributed over the island throughout all the provinces, each 
having its own army, and that the army of 40,000 men, now an 
army of veterans, is armed chiefly with repeating rifles; that it is 
organized not only into companies but also into regiments, bri¬ 
gades, divisions, and corps, thoroughly officered and thoroughly 
disciplined. 

Not only that, but they tell us further that the troops and the 
insurgents throughout the island are to-day not only stronger 
but that they are more encouraged, more hopeful, more deter¬ 
mined on ultimate and triumphant success than ever before in 
the history of the insurrection. 

Mr. WHITE. Will the Senator from Ohio yield for a question? 

Mr. FORAKER. Certainly. 

Mr. WHITE. The Senator from Ohio is a member of the Com¬ 
mittee on Foreign Relations. I desire to ask him whether it is 
contemplated to give to the Senate the information to which ho 
2767 


11 


alludes, and which ho now says he is prevented from disclosing 
becanse of an injunction of secrecy imposed, presumably, by the 
State Department. 

Mr. FORAKER. If I had my way about it, I would give it to 
the world before to-morrow morning. [Applause in the galleries.] 

The PRESIDING- OFFICER rapped with his gavel. 

Mr. FORAKER. But what will bo done about it further I do 
not know. I know simply that we are possessed of certain infor¬ 
mation, controlled by certain limitations and restrictions, and 
beyond that I can not state, except as I have already stated in the 
progress of this argument, that I have been informed bythe State 
Department that they are now engaged in the work necessary to 
enable the State Department to comply with the resolution of the 
Senate requesting all the correspondence on the subject. 

Mr. WHITE. I merely wish to call attention to what I con¬ 
sider to be the right of the Senate to any information possessed 
by its Committee on Foreign Relations. Of course, as to whether 
it is to be disclosed in executive session or publicly is an entirely 
different matter. I think we ought to have the information, so 
that we may judge for ourselves, as the Senator is able to judge 
for himself, with respect to the facts. 

Mr. FORAKER. I think so too, and I will not for a minute 
stand in the way of the Senate having it in executive session or 
otherwise when the proper time comes. But I am not the judge, 
and I have not any disposition to criticise anybody who is a judge, 
of what should be done or what is to bo done in that respect. 
I can only give the Senator the benefit of what information I 
have. 

So, therefore, without pursuing the matter further, I think we 
are safe in concluding that there is war in Cuba. As was said by 
the senior Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Lindsay] , when speaking 
a few minutes ago, the Spanish Government has sent into that 
island for the suppression of the insurrection, as they call it, nearly 
200,000 drilled and disciplined veterans of the Spanish army, a 
greater military force than the combined armies of Grant and Lee 
in the battles of the Wilderness, and yet wo are told that it is a 
debatable question whether or not there is war in Cuba. 

I am not speaking about the effect upon this question of the ac¬ 
tion already taken by the Executive. Surely it is not a condition 
of peace that prevails in an island only 00 miles distant from our 
shores when its condition is such that six to eight hundred Amer¬ 
ican citizens, in company with thousands of the natives of the is¬ 
land, are impounded like so many cattle, there to be literally and 
purposely starved to death. 

Mr. ELKINS. Let me ask the Senator from Ohio where is the 
proof of the fact that they are impounded? 

Mr. FORAKER. The proof of that fact is on file in the State 
Department, and it was upon that information that the President 
acted when he sent the message. 

Mr. ELKINS. We do not know it officially in the Senate. 

Mr. FORAKER. I tell it to the Senator officially. 

Mr. ELKINS. We do not take it from you officially. We do 
not take facts from another Senator. Each Senator has his rights 
here- 

Mr. FORAKER. Certainly. 

Mr. ELKINS. Equal as to every other Senator. 

Mr. FORAKER. It is in the message. 

2767 


12 


Mr. ELKINS. What message? It does not say they are im¬ 
pounded, to he starved to death. The President of the United 
States said nothing of the kind. The Senator from Ohio said 
that. 

Mr. FOR AKER. I will say it to the Senator, and he can go to 
the State Department and ascertain it, as I have done, or he can 
wait until the State Department sends it here. If he has any 
compunction about receiving it at my hands, lie is not bound to, 
I suppose. But I state it as a Senator who obtained hi3 informa¬ 
tion in the performance of a duty. 

Mr. ELKINS. Let me ask one other question. Will the Sena¬ 
tor pardon me? 

Mr. FORAKER. Certainly. 

Mr. ELKINS. Does each one of us have to walk up Pennsyl¬ 
vania avenue to the State Department, be admitted there, with 
the blinds pulled down, while the Secretary of State tells us to 
hush, and have to come back to the Senate and get up and pro¬ 
claim that we have these facts? Is that the way we get facts from 
the State Department or from the Executive? 

Mr. FORAKER. I have not been a member of the Senate long 
enough to give the Senator from West Virginia the informa¬ 
tion. 

Mr. ELKINS. Why do you not report those facts as all other 
resolutions or bills are reported upon from the Foreign Relations 
Committee? You belong to the committee. You have facts that 
I do not have. 

Mr. FORAKER. Yes. 

Mr. ELKINS. What! Are you afraid to assemble those facts 
and put them before us? This is a great transaction. The world 
is looking on. We are asked to vote without a fact in the world 
being submitted. We are asked to vote upon what Senators on 
the Foreign Relations Committee learn by going to the State De¬ 
partment. Hid away in a room, they get the facts, and, slipping 
out, they come to the Senate and dole out this information, and 
then say “filibuster ” if we do not vote right off, blindly and with¬ 
out the facts. 

Mr. FORAKER. The Senator should not use the term “fili¬ 
buster” with respect to myself. 

Mr. ELKINS. I have heard that word used. 

Mr. FORAKER. I am on the side that is asking the reference 
of the joint resolution to the committee. The Senator from West 
Virginia certainly could not have been in the Chamber listening 
during the whole of my remarks. What I said at the outset was 
that I had not purposed to speak on this question until a vote had 
been taken upon the motion to refer, and if the resolution shall be 
referred, as I have hoped it might be, it is my purpose then to 
speak in support of the report we may make. I said I desired a 
reference in order that the matter might take the usual course and 
in order that we might present to the Senate the facts which I am 
giving now, not by way of report from the committee, but as a 
Senator in the discharge of my duty. Of course the Senator is 
not bound to accept any statement I may make, but he should not 
become irritated about it when he has the delicious privilege of 
rejecting it. [Laughter.] 

Resuming my argument, I assume that the first of the two con¬ 
ditions precedent to the recognition of belligerency, namely, the 
existence of war, does exist. 

27G7 


13 


Now, the next question is whether or not the rights and the in¬ 
terests of the United States are so prejudicially affected thereby 
as to justify us in taking any notice of it. All text writers are 
agreed that if there be rebellion in a country with which we have 
no transactions, or a rebellion that does not in any way whatso¬ 
ever affect us, there would be no justification in our taking any 
note of it; but, on the other hand, all text writers are in accord 
that when we do have rights and interests that are prejudicially 
affected, it is not only our right, Mr. President, but our duty to 
act, and to act seasonably, in the language of the text writers. 
The question is whether or not our interests and rights are 
affected. 

Let me again recur to an authority which those who are oppos¬ 
ing the resolution of the Senator from Alabama should not dis¬ 
pute. I read again from Secretary Olney. I read from him now 
as to the interests of the United States which are affected by the 
war. He says: 

The situation thus described is of great interest to the people of tho United 
States. They are interested in any struggle anywhere for freer political in¬ 
stitutions, but necessarily, and in special measure, in a struggle that is rag¬ 
ing almost in sight of our shores. They are interested, as a civilized and 
Christian nation, in the speedy termination of a civil strife characterized by 
exceptional bitterness and exceptional excesses on tho part of both combat¬ 
ants. They are interested in the noninterruption of extensive trade rela¬ 
tions which havo been and should continue to be of great advantage to both 
countries. . , . , ,. . 

They are interested in the prevention of that wholesale destruction of 
property on the island which, making no discrimination between enemies 
and neutrals, is utterly destroying American investments that should be of 
immense value and is utterly impoverishing great numbers of American citi¬ 
zens. On all these grounds and in all these ways the interest of the United 
States in the existing situation in Cuba yields in extent only to that of Spain 
herself, and has led many good and honest persons to insist that intervention 
to terminate the conflict is the immediate and imperative duty of the United 
States. 


And then lie goes on to say that he does not now propose to 
discuss the question of intervention, but only the question 
whether they will permit the United States to act as a friendly 
mediator. , , _ 

But, Mr. President, not to detain the Senate unduly, if I have 
talked to any purpose thus far, I have shown that war exists by 
authority that no Senator has a right to question, becanso it is 
official; and I have shown, also, that interests and rights of the 
very highest character, property rights, commerce rights, the 
right to life and liberty, all are prejudicially affected by the war 
that is proceeding in Cuba. If these things he established, then 
there remains, as I said awhile ago, but one further general ques¬ 
tion, and that is whether it is expedient for us to adopt the pend¬ 
ing resolution. . ,. 

When we come to tho question of expediency, it is, according to 
the text writers, more a question of politics than of international 
law, but it is one of those political questions that international 
law deals with. Being a question of expediency, it is right and 
proper that we should answer (for in that lies the whole contro¬ 
versy) the question propounded by the senior Senator from Mas¬ 
sachusetts [Mr. Hoar] when, yesterday at the conclusion of tlio 
address of the Senator from Illinois [Mr. Mason], lie made 
an inquiry as to what would be tho result. I can not give his 
language exactly, but he is watching mo so intently that I 
believe I will read it. I said lie put it as an inquiry. He did 
2767 


14 

not. He put it as a statement of his opinion as to the result. 
He said: 

The only effect of that resolution— 

Referring to the joint resolution of the Senator from Alabama— 

which is to be interpreted, and must be, and is meant to be, by “ that ancient 
barnacle, international law 

It is fair to the Senator from Massachusetts that I should say 
that is a quotation [laughter] — 

is that it declares that while the present condition of things continues Spain 
may search our ships at sea at her discretion, and that our citizens on that 
island who suffer from lawlessness there shall have in the future no remedy 
or recompense against Spain whatever; and that is the whole of it. 

In other -words, Mr. President, we are told that the legal results 
and consequences that will flow from the adoption of the resolution 
will be, first, a right of search conferred upon the Spaniard with 
respect to our merchantmen on the high seas, and, secondly, a re¬ 
lease of Spain from liability to make reparation. 

Mr. HOAR. From the acts of the insurgents. 

Mr. FORAKER. Now, let me speak briefly upon that point. 
It is true that these are two of the consequences that would result, 
but not in the unlimited extent stated by the Senator. It is true 
that from the moment the joint resolution is adopted and signed 
by the President, and thus given effect—from the moment there is 
recognition of belligerency, in other words—we do release Spain 
from liability to make reparation to us for losses incurred by 
American citizens in that island because of the acts of the insur¬ 
gents. 

That i3 true. But, Mr. President, I do not regard that as a 
serious loss. I have been to the State Department upon that sub¬ 
ject as well as others. I find in the State Department, as any Sen¬ 
ator can find, that claims are piled up there amounting to many 
millions, preferred by this Government against the Spanish Gov¬ 
ernment in behalf of American citizens in Cuba whose property 
in Cuba has been destroyed by the insurgents. I find, further¬ 
more, that in each and every instance of the presentation to the 
Spanish Government of such a claim there has been a long, pro¬ 
longed diplomatic correspondence, winding up in the end, without 
an exception, in every case, with a flat final repudiation by Spain 
of the claim and a refusal to pay it. 

To begin with, therefore, Spain does not recognize any such 
claims. In the second place, it is a fact notorious to all that if she 
did recognize them she is not able to pay them. I do not think 
there is much loss in releasing Spain from liability to make repara¬ 
tion to American citizens. On the contrary, Mr. President, I say 
it in all seriousness, I would rather have the obligation of the in¬ 
surgents of the Republic of Cuba than the obligation of Spain. 
[Applause in the galleries.] 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair again reminds the 
occupants of the galleries that a violation of the customs of the 
Senate in making manifestations of either dissent or assent will 
be followed by the clearing of the galleries. Those who occupy 
the galleries will please bear this in mind. 

Mr. FORAKER. Now, as to the other disagreeable result that 
would flow from this action. We are told, as though it was some 
2767 


15 


terrible thing, that a recognition of belligerency would instantly 
confer upon Spain a right of visit aud search of American mer¬ 
chantmen upon the high seas. That is true. But what is this 
right of search? Is it, as the Senator from Massachusetts yester¬ 
day said, a right that is to be exercised without limitation; that, 
to give his own language accurately, “Spain may search our ships 
at sea at her discretion?” 

No, Mr. President; according to international law no such right 
as that is conferred upon Spain. The right that is conferred upon 
Spain is the right to hail, to stop, to board, with one officer in the 
first instance, any merchantman of our country traveling on tho 
high seas, respectfully to request an examination of the ship's 
papers, and make such other examination, the character of which 
is well described in all international law, as may be deemed neces¬ 
sary to determine whether there are on board that ship any con¬ 
traband goods of war. What are contraband goods of war? 

In the absence of any specific naming of contraband goods, such 
as is customary in treaties between countries, there is much dis¬ 
cussion in the authorities as to what are contraband goods of war. 
But in the treaty between this country and Spain we are told what 
are contraband goods of war. I read from the treaty between 
Spain and this country of 1795, Article XVI: 

This liberty of navigation and commerce— 


Which in preceding sections has been described— 

This liberty of navigation and commerce shall extend to all kinds of mer¬ 
chandizes, excepting those only which are distinguished by the name of con¬ 
traband; and under this name of contraband or prohibited goous, shall bo 
comprehended arms, great guns, bomb3, with tho fusees, and other things 
belonging to them, cannon-ball, gunpowder, match, pikes, swords, lance-s, 
speards, halberds, mortars, petards, granados, salpetro, muskets, musket- 
balls, bucklers, helmets, breast-plates, coats of mail, and the like kind of 
arms proper for arming soldiers, musket-rests, belts, horses with their f urm- 
ture, and all other warlike instruments whatever. 


In other words, Mr. President, there could be no question here 
as to whether clothing onboard the ship was contraband goods of 
war as has so frequently been discussed as to character of an 
article of that kind when found by the exercise of the right of 
search. Nothing is contraband of war except only arms and mu¬ 
nitions of war, to state it concisely. . . ... 

Now, it is true that just so soon as we recognize the belliger¬ 
ency of tho insurgents, if we do, Spain will have the right to hail 
and detain our ships until she may have examined the ship s papers 
to determine whether there are any contraband goods on hoard 
destined to the belligerents. I quote upon tins subject from Law¬ 
rence upon The Principles of International Law, a book very 
recently issued, but ono that is very ably written. Having spoken 
of the right, and stating that it is the duty of the ship cleaning to 
exercise the right of search to hail the merchantman, tho autnor 
proceeds: 

Assuming that tho summons of tho belligerent cruiser is obeyed, the next 
sten taken by her commander is to send an ohirer m uniform on board the 
S££nihfi searched The visiting officer should question tho nuuster of tho 
vSel and^examine 1 her papers. 1? any circumstances ofsn^icionare rer 
voaled bv his examination, but not otherwise, he is at liberty to call ^^oat s 
nn limrd and order them to make a thorough search of the vessel. 
av, lrl search con firm the suspicions, tho commander of tho cruiser may 

Sln nossessTo^of th^ship, sccure^her papers, and hold her master and crew 
^prisoners! But throughout his proceedings ho is bound to use courtesy 

2767 


16 


and consideration, and to carry on the search with as little disturbance aa 
possible of the interior economy or navigation of the suspected vessel. 

The regular course is to send"her to the most accessible prize court of hi3 
own state for adjudication. If the grounds on which the capture was ef¬ 
fected turn out to be good, condemnation will ensue, and the captors will 
receive the proceeds of the sale of the captured property in the form of prize 
money. If the evidence against the vessel is not conclusive in spite of circum¬ 
stances of just and reasonable suspicion, she will be released, but her owners 
will have to bear the expense of detention and delay. But if the capture was 
effected on frivolous and foolish grounds, the officer responsible for it will be 
condemned in costs and damages. 

In other words, Mr. President, there is no liability to the right 
of search upon the part of any American merchantman who does 
not carry contraband of war, and there is no contraband of war 
under the treaty between the United States and Spain except only 
arms and munitions of war, and the arms and munitions of war 
that are contraband under that treaty before the merchantman 
shall be subjected to liability to the right of search shall be shown 
to be destined to the insurgents. When there is this right of 
search, if there bo no contraband on board there is not anything 
disagreeable about it. It is the delay of only a few minutes. In¬ 
ternational law says the officer boarding the American merchant¬ 
man will have to be considerate and courteous, and I think he 
would be. 

Mr. ELKINS. May I interrupt the Senator from Ohio? 

Mr. FOR AKER. With pleasure. 

Mr. ELKINS. How long do you think you could avert war if 
you allowed the Spanish Government to overhaul one of our mer¬ 
chant ships and have her examined, and certainly if they made a 
mistake? With all the war feeling that is in the Senate and out 
of the Senate, I tell the Senator he invites us to this very result of 
war. 

Mr. FORAKER. Certainly not. 

Mr. ELKINS. It follows logically, when we recognize bellig¬ 
erency, that Spain has a right to search our ships, and that means 
war, and that is the way to bring on war, too. 

Mr. FORAKER. If the record were to show that there are 
100,000 armed men in Cuba constituting the insurgent army and a 
civil government as firmly established as was the civil govern¬ 
ment of the Southern’^ Confederacy in its capital at Richmond, the 
Senator would yet say, “We will not recognize belligerency, be¬ 
cause the right of search will be conferred, and that means war.” 

Mr. ELKINS. But, if the Senator will allow me, there is no 
proof before the Senate proving it in the way you say, by informa¬ 
tion from the State Department, that there is any hundred thousand 
men firmly established and intrenched as was the Southern Con¬ 
federacy. A comparison between Cuba and the Southern Con¬ 
federacy is a travesty. 

Mr. FORAKER. I have not said there are 100,000 men in the 
Cuban army—I was illustrating—but there are 40,000 men in that 
army. The Senator is bound to accept without question the offi¬ 
cial statement of officers of this Government. I have read to him 
here in open Senate in the course of these remarks the official 
statements of the Secretary of State made more than a year ago, 
and I have read to him an extract from an official statement that 
has been confirmed over and over again, as he can learn by a 
recurrence to the files of the State Department. 

Mr. CHANDLER. Mr. President, will the Senator from Ohio 
allow me a moment? 

2767 


17 


Mr. FOR AKER. Certainly. 

Mr. CHANDLER. I should like to inquire of the Senator from 
West Virginia where he obtained the fact 3 upon which he voted 
a year ago, upon the yeas and nays, for a resolution in exactly tho 
same terms as the resolution now before the Senate? 

Mr. ELKINS. I had some assurances that I found out were 
not true when I investigated the facts. They were newspaper 
reports, I will tell the Senator from New Hampshire; they were 
not facts which were brought into the Senate. Now, what do we 
appeal for and beg for? If the Senator from Ohio will allow me, 
I will state that the Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Lodge] got 
up here on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Relations and 
begged that tho resolution be referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations, that we might have a report. Now, report the facts, if 
you have got them. A Cuban officer belonging to the insurgents 
says that the facts are not the same that they were a year ago; 
that there have been great changes. 

Mr. CHANDLER. Then the Senator has changed his mind 
since a year ago? 

Mr. ELKINS. I have not said I did; not at all. And, Mr. 
President, allow me to say this is the hardest way I ever heard to 
prove a war. We know that there is a war going on between 
Turkey and Greece. 

Mr. FORAKER. How do you know? 

Mr. CHANDLER. How do you know it? 

Mr. ELKINS. It is all over the world. But here you twist 
the President's message for relief. One Senator argues it in one 
way. Another Senator says, “ I have been admitted into the 
sanctum sanctorum of the State Department, and I have got it; 
you must take it from me; and if you do not want to take it from 
me, you must leave it alone/’ Where are the facts? 

Mr. FORAKER. I hope the Senator from West Virginia will 
not interrupt me further with a mere repetition of questions that 
I have answered two or three times already. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio declines 
to yield further. Tho Chair will suggest to Senators that under 
tho rule they can only interrupt a Senator on the floor by asking 
permission through the Chair. The rule will be observed in the 
future. 

Mr. FORAKER. Now, referring to the statement mado by the 
Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Hoar] yesterday, that the whole 
result of a recognition of belligerency was to confer upon Spain 
the right of search and release her from liability to make repara¬ 
tion, that and nothing more, to quote his exact language, I desire 
to call attention to another fact. What, Mr. President, is tho 
attitude of this Government toward the insurgent Cubans now? 
It is one of absolute refusal to give them any recognition what¬ 
ever. Wo as a Government know only one people, one Govern¬ 
ment, one authority on the Island of Cuba. That being the case, 
when a Cuban comes into this country, I would say to the Senator 
from Massachusetts, if he comes to act with respect to insurgency in 
Cuba, he comes here subject to the municipal laws of the United 
States. The policing of our seacoast that was referred to by Sen¬ 
ators in the debate yesterday was in pursuance of and in recogni¬ 
tion of that fact and in accordance with tho proclamation of the 
President of the United States. 

I desire to call attention in this connection to the proclamation 
2767 —2 


18 

issued by Mr. Cleveland, as President, June 12, 1895, and to read 
a part of it. He said: 

Whereas the Island of Cuba is now the seat of serious civil disturbances 
accompanied by armed resistance to the authority of the established Govern¬ 
ment of Spain, a power with which the United States are and desire to re¬ 
main on terms of peace and amity; and 

Whereas the laws of the United States prohibit their citizens, as well as 
all others being within and subject to their jurisdiction— 

‘ ‘All others ” are the Cubans— 

from taking part in such disturbances adversely to such established Govern¬ 
ment— 

That is, our municipal laws prohibit Cubans from coming here 
and being kept from taking part adversely to the authority of 
Spain— 

by accepting or exercising commissions for warlike service against it, by 
enlistment or procuring others to enlist for such service, by fitting out or 
arming or procuring to be fitted out and armed ships of war for such service, 
by augmenting the force of any ship of war engaged in such service and 
arriving in a port of the United States, and by setting on foot or pi’oviding 
or preparing the means for military enterprises to be carried on from the 
United States against the territory of such Government— 

The Government of Spain— 

Now. therefore, in recognition of the laws aforesaid and in discharge of 
the obligations of the United States toward a friendly power, and as a meas¬ 
ure of precaution, and to the end that citizens of the United States and all 
others within their jurisdiction may be deterred from subjecting themselves 
to legal forfeitures and penalties, I, Grover Cleveland— 

Do command that you do not do these things so prohibited—not 
taking the time to read the proclamation through to the end. 

Now, the laws to which he refers, in pursuance of which he 
makes the proclamation, are entitled bur neutrality laws, and they 
will be found at section 5281 of our Revised Statutes et sequitur. 
If you will recur to those sections and read them, you will find 
that the prohibitions are throughout against any action being 
taken by anybody in this country that is in the nature of hostile 
action against the Government of Spain in the Island of Cuba. 

I answer again the inquiry made by the Senator from Massa¬ 
chusetts yesterday. You will remember what it was. He ap¬ 
pealed to the Senator from Illinois to know what earthly benefit 
could result to the insurgents of Cuba from a recognition of their 
belligerency. I will tell the Senator from Massachusetts. The 
first result will be the substitution of international for municipal 
law to govern all who are interested in Cuba while they are here 
in the territory and in the jurisdiction of the United States. 

Mr. WHITE. Mr. President- 

Mr. FORAKER. I will tell it to you in a plainer way, if you 
will bear with me a minute. The insurgent in Cuba to-day, in 
the absence of the recognition proposed by this joint resolution, is 
but a traitor on land and a pirate on sea. He is shot like a dog 
when captured on shore, instead of being treated as a prisoner of 
war. If they had a battle ship, and he were on her and captured, 
he would be hanged at the yardarm as a pirate. And here in our 
country he is known only as a violator of our municipal law, and 
denied all recognition under the law of nations. Recognition will 
change all this. Let me particularize further. 

Every such case as this is to be determined by its particular 
facts. There are to-day hundreds of American youths in the insur¬ 
gent army. One of them, captured with a gun in his hand, taken 
in battle, is, like the Cuban insurgent, but a traitor to be shot in 
his tracks. When this Government refuses to recognize belliger- 


19 


ency, great and mighty and powerful as it is, it is absolutely with¬ 
out the power to protest against it; but when we shall have rec¬ 
ognized belligerency, we have invested this Government with 
power to say that a man fighting for human liberty, for national 
independence, talcen in the line of duty, w T ith arms in his hands, 
gallant and heroic, shall be treated as a soldier engaged in legiti¬ 
mate war, and shall be accorded all the rights and privileges that 
belong to prisoners of war captured in battle. 

So, while it is true that Spain gets the right of search, and gets 
release from further obligation to us, yet it is also true that this 
act puts the Cuban cause on a higher plane; the Cuban Republic 
at once takes a place among the nations of the earth; the soldier 
of that republic is henceforth engaged in legitimate war; taken in 
battle, he is entitled to be treated as a prisoner of war. 

Furthermore, comes this result to us as a people: It puts ns in a 
position of neutrality. We are not in a position of neutrality now. 
Every Cuban who comes into this country comes here subject to 
the municipal regulations to w r hich I have referred. Ho comes 
under the surveillance of this Government until, as in many cases 
that have occurred, he is arrested and brought to trial; but no 
Spaniard is under any such surveillance, because our municipal 
code only prohibits those things and makes them unlawful which 
are done in hostility to a recognized power with which we are on 
friendly relations. Therefore it is that there is an important con¬ 
sideration here to which I wish to call attention. We are not a 
neutral power now as between these belligerents, but the very 
moment we recognize belligerency wo become absolutely neutral 
according to all international law. 

Wliat does becoming neutral mean? It means that we have 
recognized the Cuban Republic as a friendly power, that we are 
at peace with that power, and that we can prohibit, as in violation 
of our municipal law, schemes set on foot in the United States in 
hostility to Cuba, as w t o now can only schemes set on foot in the 
United States in hostility to Spain. 

Another thing—I might stand here and dwell upon this almost 
without limit—in all this matter there is something of higher 
concern to me, something that appeals to my conscience more 
than anything else that has been adverted to in this debate. Do 
yon not think it time for the United States to cease to police her 
country and enforce her municipal regulations in the interest of 
Spain? Is it not time for us to take a position of absolute neu¬ 
trality? 'What do we do by this? We do not make war on Spain; 
we simply sav we will have nothing rnoro to do with j’our war; 
we will put the contest on the high plane of legitimate warfare, 
and there leave you to fight it out. 

What is the consequence t© us? The consequence to us, Mr. 
President, is that we at once cease a responsibility for that which 
has shocked and horrified all Christendom. The United States 
has not any right in a moral point of view to stand longer a quasi 
copartner with Spain in the conduct of this brutal and atrocious 
war. The time has come to put an end to it. It is another “ cov¬ 
enant with sin and league with hell, 5 ’ and, for my part, by no 
word or speech or act or vote of mine shall the unholy alliance 
longer continue than until this resolution comes to bo voted upon 
by the Senate. {Applause in the galleries.] 

The VICE-PRESIDENT. Order must be preserved m the gal¬ 
leries. 

2767 


20 


Appendix. 

Department op State, Washington , April A, 1895. 

Sir: It might well he deemed a dereliction of duty to the Government of 
the United States, as well as a censurable want of candor to that of Spain, if 
I were longer to defer official expression as well of the anxiety with which 
the President regards the existing situation in Cuba as of his earnest desire 
for the prompt and permanent pacification of that island. Any plan giving 
reasonable assurance of that result and not inconsistent with the just rights 
and reasonable demands of all concerned would be earnestly promoted by 
him by all means which the Constitution and laws of this country place at his 
disposal. 

It i 3 now some nine or ten months since the nature and prospects of the 
insurrection were first discussed between us. In explanation of its rapid 
and, up to that time, quite unopposed growth and progress, you called atten¬ 
tion to the rainy season which from May or June until November renders 
regular military operations impracticable. Spain was pouring such num¬ 
bers of troops into Cuba that your theory and opinion that, when they could 
be used in an active campaign, the insurrection would be almost instantly 
suppressed, seemed reasonable and probable. In this particular you believed, 
and sincerely believed, that the present insurrection would offer a most 
marked contrast to that which began in 1868, and which, being feebly encoun¬ 
tered with comparatively small forces, prolonged its life [for upward of ten 
years. 

It is impossible to deny that the expectations thus entertained by you in 
the summer and fall of 1885, and shared not merely by all Spaniards but by 
most disinterested observers as well, have been completely disappointed. 
The insurgents seem to-day to command a larger part of the island than ever 
before. Their men under arms, estimated a year ago at from ten to twenty 
thousand, are now conceded to be at least two or three times as many. 
Meanwhile, their discipline has been improved, and their supply of modern 
weapons and equipment has been greatly enlarged, while the mere fact that 
they have held out to this time has given them confidence in their own eyes 
and prestige with the world at large. In short, it can hardly be questioned 
that the insurrection, instead of being quelled, is to-day more formidable 
than ever, and enters upon the second year of its existence with decidedly 
improved prospects of successful results. 

Whether a condition of things entitling the insurgents to recognition as 
belligerents has yet been brought about may, for the purposes of the present 
communication, be regarded as immaterial. If it has not been, it is because 
they are still without an established and organized civil government, having 
an ascertained situs, presiding over a defined territory, controlling the 
armed forces in the field, and not only fulfilling the functions of a regular 
government within its own frontiers, but capable internationally of exercis¬ 
ing those powers and discharging those obligations which necessarily devolve 
upon every member of the family of nations. It is immaterial for present 
purposes that such is the present political status of the insurgents, because 
their defiance of the authority of Spain remains none the less pronounced 
and successful, and their displacement of that authority throughout a very 
large portion of the island is none the less obvious and real. 

When, in 1877, the president of the so-called Cuban Republic was captured, 
its legislative chamber surprised in the mountains and dispersed, ambits pre¬ 
siding officer and other principal functionaries killed, it was asserted in some 
quarters that the insurrection had received its deathblow and might well be 
deemed to be extinct. The leading organ of the insurrectionists, however, 
made this response: 

“The organization of the liberating army is such that a brigade, a regi¬ 
ment, a battalion, a company, or a party of twenty-five men can operate in¬ 
dependently against the enemy in any department without requiring any 
instructions save those of their immediate military officers, because their 
purpose is but one, and that is known by heart as well by the general as the 
soldier, by the negro as well as the white man or the Chinese, viz., to make 
war on the enemy at all times, in all places, and by all means, with the gun, the 
machete, and the firebrand. In order to do this, which is the duty of every 
Cuban soldier, the direction of a government or a legislative chamber is not 
needed; the order cf a subaltern officer, serving under the general-in-chief, 
is sufficient. Thus it is that the government and chamber bave in reality 
been a superfluous luxury for the revolution.” 

The situation thus vividly described in 1877 is reproduced to-dav. Even 
if it be granted that a condition of insurgency prevails and nothing'more, it 
is on so large a scale and diffused over so extensive a region, and is so favored 
by the physical features and the climate of the country, that the authority 
of Spain is subverted and the functions of its Government are in abeyanco 
or practically suspended throughout a great part cf the island. Spain still 
holds the seaports and most, if not all, of the large towns in the interior. 

2767 


21 


Nevertheless, a vast area of the territory of tho island is in effect under the 
control of roving bands of insurgents, which, if driven from one place to-dav 
by an exhibition of superior force, abandon it only to return to-morrow 
when ^ a t force has moved on for their dislodgmentin other quarters. 

The consequences of this state of things can not bo disguised. Outside of 
the towns still under Spanish rule, anarchy, lawlessness, and terrorism are 
rampant. The insurgents realize that the wholesale destruction of crops, fac¬ 
tories, and machinery advances their cause in two ways. It cripples tlia 
resources of Spam on the one hand. On the other, it drives into their ranks 
tho laborers who are thus thrown out of employment. The result is a sys¬ 
tematic war upon the industries of the island and upon all the means by 
which they are carried on, and whereas tho normal annual product of the 
island is valued at something like eighty or a hundred millions, its value for 
tno present year is estimated by competent authority as not exceeding 
twenty millions. 

Bad as is this showing for the present year, it must be even worse for the 
next year and for every succeeding year during which tho reliellion contin¬ 
ues to live. Some planters have made thoir crops this year who will not be 
allowed to make them again. Some have worked their fields and operated 
their mills this year in tho face of a certain loss who have neither tho heart 
nor tho means to do so again under the present oven more depressing condi¬ 
tions. Not only is it certain that no fresh money is beiug invested on the 
island, but it is no secret that capital is fast withdrawing from it, frightened 
away by the utter hopelessness of the outlook. Why should it not be? What 
can a prudent man foresee as the outcome of existing conditions except the 
complete devastation of the island, the entire annihilation of its industries, an 
the absolute impoverishment of such of its inhabitants a 3 are unwise or un¬ 
fortunate enough not to seasonably escape from it? 

The last preceding insurrection lasted for ten years and then was not sub¬ 
dued, but only succumbed to the influence of certain promised reforms. 
Where is found the promise that the present rebellion will have a shorter 
lease of life, unless tho end is sooner reached through the exhaustion of Spain 
herself ? Taught by experience, Spain wisely undertook to make its struggle 
with the present insurrection short, sharp, and decisive, to stamp it out in 
its very beginnings by concentrating upon it largo and well-organized armies, 
armies infinitely superior in numbers, in discipline, and in equipment to any 
the insurgents could oppose to them. 

Those armies were put under the command of its ablest general, as well a3 
its most renowned statesman—of one whose very name was an assurance to 
the insurgents both of tho skillful generalship with which they would bo 
fought and of tho reasonable and liberal temper in which lust demands for 
redress of grievances would be received. Yet tho efforts of Campos seem to 
have utterly failed, and his successor, a man who, rightfully or wrongfully, 
seems to have intensified all the acerbities of the struggle, is now being reen¬ 
forced with additional troops. It may well be fearea, therefore, that if tho 

E resent is to bo of shorter duration than tho last insurrection, it will bo 
ecauso tho end is to come sooner or later through the inability of Spain to 

I irolong the conflict, and through her abandonment of tho island to tho 
ieterogeneous combination of elements and of races now in arms against her. 

Such a conclusion of tho struggle can not be viewed even by the most de¬ 
voted friend of Cuba and tho most enthusiastic advocate of popular govern¬ 
ment except with the gravest apprehension. There are only too strong rea¬ 
sons to fear that, onee Spain wore withdrawn from tho island, tho sole bond 
of union between tho different factions of the insurgents would disappear; 
that a war of races would he precipitated, all tho more sanguinary for tho 
discipline and experience acquired during the insurrection, and that, even if 
there wero to bo temporary peace, it could only be through the establishment 
of a white and a black republic, which, even if agreeing at the outset upon a 
division of the island between them, would bo enemies from the start, and 
would never re3t until tho one had been completely vanquished and subdued 


by the other. 

Tho situation thus described is of great interest to the people of tho 
United States. They are interested in any struggle anywhere for freer polit¬ 
ical institutions, but necessarily and in special measure in a struggle that is 
raging almost in sight of our shores. They are interested, as a civilized and 
Christian nation, in the speedy termination of a civil strifo characterized by 
exceptional bitterness and exceptional excesses on tho part of both combat¬ 
ants. They aro interested in tho noninterruption of extensive trado rela¬ 
tions which have been and should continue to do of great advantage to both 
countries. They aro interested in tho prevention of that wholesale destruc¬ 
tion of property on tho island which, making no discrimination between 
enemies and neutrals, is utterly destroying American investments that should 
bo of immense value, and is utterly impoverishing great numbers of Ameri¬ 
can citizens. . , . . » .. tt ii a ni. i. 

On all theso grounds and in all those ways the interest of tho United btates 


2707 


22 


in the existing situation in Cuba yields in extent only to that of Spain her¬ 
self, and has led many good and honest persons to insist that intervention 
to terminate the conflict is the immediate and imperative duty of the United 
States. It is not proposed now to consider whether existing conditions 
would justify such intervention at the present time, or how much longer 
those conditions should he endured before such intervention would be justi¬ 
fied. That the United States can not contemplate with complacency another 
ten years of Cuban insurrection, with all its injurious and distressing inci¬ 
dents, may certainly be taken for granted. 

The object of the present communication, however, is not to discuss inter¬ 
vention, nor to propose intervention, nor to pave the way for intervention. 
The purpose is exactly the reverse—to suggest whether a solution of present 
troubles can not be found which will prevent all thought of intervention by 
rendering it unnecessary. What the United States desires to do, if the way 
can be pointed out, is to cooperate with Spain in the immediate pacification 
of the island on such a plan as, leaving Spain her rights of sovereignty, shall 
yet secure to the people of the island all such rights and powers of local self- 
government as they can reasonably ask. To that end the United States of¬ 
fers and will use her good offices at such time and in such manner as may be 
deemed most advisable. Its mediation, it is believed, should not be rejected 
in any quarter, since none could misconceive or mistrust its purpose. 

Spain could not, because our respect for her sovereignty and our deter¬ 
mination to do nothing to impair it have been maintained for many years at 
great cost and in spite of many temptations. The insurgents could not, be¬ 
cause anything assented to by this G overnment which did not satisfy the 
reasonable demands and aspirations of Cuba would arouse the indignation of 
our whole people. It only remains to suggest that, if anything can be done 
in the direction indicated, it should be done at once and on the initiative of 
Spain. 

The more the contest is prolonged, the more bitter and more irreconcilable 
is the antagonism created, while there is danger that concessions may be so 
delayed as to be chargeable to weakness and fear of the issue of the contest, 
and thus be infinitely less acceptable and persuasive than if made while the 
result still hangs in the balance, and they could be properly credited in some 
degree at least to a sense of right and justice. Thus far Spain has faced the 
insurrection sword in hand, and has made no sign to show that surrender and 
submission would be followed by anything but a return to the old order of 
things. Would it not be wise to modify that policy and to accompany the 
application of military force with an authentic declaration of the organic 
changes that are meditated in the administration of the island with a view 
to remove all just grounds of complaint? 

It is for Spain to consider and determine what those changes would be. 
But should they be such that the United States could urge their adoption, as 
substantially removing well-founded grievances, its influence would be ex¬ 
erted for their acceptance, and it can hardly be doubted, would be most po¬ 
tential for the termination of hostilities and the restoration of peace and 
order to the island. One result of the course of proceeding outlined, if no 
other, would be sure to follow, namely, that the rebellion would lose largely, 
if not altogether, the moral countenance and support it now enjoys from the 
people of the United States. 

In closing this communication it is hardly necessary to repeat that it is 
prompted by the friendliest feelings toward Spain and the Spanish people. 
To attribute to the United States any hostile or hidden purposes would be a 
grave and most lamentable error. The United States lias no designs upon 
Cuba and no designs against the sovereignty of Spain. Neither is it actuated 
by any spirit of meddlesomeness nor by any desire to force its will upon 
another nation. Its geographical proximity and all the considerations above 
detailed compel it to be interested in the solution of the Cuban problem 
whether it will or no. Its only anxiety is that that solution should be speedy, 
and, by being founded on truth and justice, should also be permanent. 

To aid in that solution, it offers the suggestions herein contained. They 
will be totally misapprehended unless the United States be credited with 
entertaining no other purpose toward Spain than that of lending its assist¬ 
ance^ such termination of a fratricidal contest as will leave her honor and 
dignity unimpaired at the same time that it promotes and conserves the 
true interests of all parties concerned. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to you, Mr. Minister, the 
assurances of my highest consideration. 


Senor Don Enrique Dupuy de Lome, etc. 


RICHARD OLNEY. 


Mr. THURSTON. Mr. President, I will take the floor for the 
purpose of submitting some remarks on the pending resolution, 
but I do not care to go on to-night. 

2787 


23 


Mr. CULLOM. If tlie Senator will allow me, I move that the 
Senate proceed to the consideration of executive business. 

Mr. HOAR. If the Senator from Nebraska does not care to go 
on to-night, I should like, if he will allow me, to ask the Senator 
from Illinois to withdraw his motion for an executive session and 
to renew it after I get through. 

Mr. CULLOM. I will withdraw the motion with that under¬ 
standing. 

Mr. HOAR. Mr. President, I so far sympathize with the gen¬ 
tlemen who desire to conclude this discussion- 

Mr. PETTUS. Mr. President- 

The VICE-PRESIDENT. The Senator from Massachusetts has 
the floor. 

Mr. PETTUS. I desire to make a point of order, Mr. President. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT. The Senator from Alabama will state 
his point of order. 

Mr. PETTUS. I do not want to interrupt the Senator, but I do 
not think he ought to speak until there is order in the Senate. 

The VICE-PRESIDENT. The point of order is well taken. 
The Senate will please come to order. [A pause.] The Senator 
from Massachusetts will now proceed. 

Mr. HOAR. Mr. President, I so far sympathize with those per¬ 
sons who desire to bring this discussion to a conclusion that I de¬ 
sire to take a few minutes to-niglit, instead of consuming another 
day, in pointing out the precise distinction between the Senator 
from Ohio and myself, so far as our opinion upon this matter is 
concerned. I think the Senate should have authoritative facts, 
and should set them forth in a finding like a judicial decree on 
which it should base action. 

I think my honorable friend from Ohio does not altogether seem 
to dissent from that proposition, although he desires us to act, as I 
understand him, upon the information given to him contained in 
two papers, one or which the Senate is not permitted to read 
through. He gives us a letter from the Secretary of State and an 
extract only from the reply; and we are asked to vote on this great 
question without knowing or being able to judge for ourselves 
whether the sentences which the honorable Senator withholds from 
his associates here modify, control, or contradict anything which 
is said in the garbled paper. I do not use the w'ord “garbled” as 
implying impropriety, but w T e only know what is contained in the 
portion of the paper which he has read to the Senate. 

Mr. FORAKER. I shall append the paper to my remarks. 

Mr. HOAR. The Senator says he will put in the paper on 
which he founds his case the whole of the letter to the Spanish 
minister, but he withholds part of the answer and the last sen¬ 
tences of a report from somebody on the ground that if he were to 
give that report in full, it would disclose to us the author. 

Mr. FORAKER. No; on the ground that I am limited by the 
injunction placed upon me w T hen I received it. 

Mr. HOAR. Not to disclose to us its author? 

Mr. FORAKER. That is one of the reasons, and only one. I 
did not give that reason, and I would not give that reason. 

Mr. HOAR. I thought the Senator did. I do not mean to say 
that he himself would prefer not to disclose the author. What I 
stated was that he, not being at liberty to disclose the author, 
will not disclose to us the w T hole paper. 

Mr. FORAKER. That is all right. 

2767 


24 


Mr. HOAR. Now, I say that is not the way in which great 
transactions in our foreign affairs should be conducted. But, Mr.. 
President, to hasten to the principal proposition of the honorable 
Senator, he thinks we had better declare belligerency and stop. 

Mr. FORAKER. No; I did not say that. I said I would rather 
have intervention, but I stopped with belligerency because that 
was proposed. 

Mr. HOAR. The Senator says he would rather have interven¬ 
tion, but he stops at belligerency because that is all that is pro¬ 
posed either by him or by anybody else. I say the proper thing 
to do is to propose mediation in favor of independence. 

Mr. FORAKER. Very well, then; propose it. 

Mr. HOAR. I am going to do so before I get through, or some¬ 
body before we get through will propose mediation in favor of 
independence, and, if that is rejected, then to have the facts re¬ 
ported to the Senate and take the action which the facts require. 

The Senator says he does not believe in calling that power into 
exercise, and he proposes to stop with what I think is this little 
mouse of a resolution following a great bras3 band of proclama¬ 
tion, because, in the first place, he says Spain has once declined. 
Well, that was more than a year ago. 

Mr. FORAKER. It was in June. 

Mr. HOAR. The proffer was made more than a year ago; and, 
in the next place, what Spain declined was a proposal that it strikes 
me every self-respecting government on earth would decline, to 
wit, that while she continued her authority over Cuba the United 
States should dictate or advise and suggest what laws she should 
make for a part of her Kingdom. 

I do not agree with my honorable and most able friend from 
Ohio in thinking that the refusal to permit us to tell Spain what 
kind of laws she shall make involves a refusal to accept our medi¬ 
ation in regard to the matter of independence. But if I heard cor¬ 
rectly—I have not had a chance to examine itcarefulty—the paper 
that the Senator read, the Spanish Government intimated that 
there might come a condition of things later when she might 
accept. 

Mr. FORAKER. No; that was twenty years ago. 

Mr. HOAR. That was twenty years ago. Very well. When 
we proposed to mediate for independence twenty years ago, the 
Spanish Government replied that the condition of things then 
did not make her willing to accept it—it seems she put down 
that rebellion—but that there might come a condition of things 
later when she would not consider such a proposal one to be 
rejected. 

So we have got a declaration from Spain herself that there may 
be circumstances under which she would not consider such a 
proposition unfriendly, and under which she might accede to it; 
and if the picture drawn by the honorable Senator from Ohio 
be true, I should think that the gentlemen who agree with him 
might think that that golden moment had now come. So much 
for that. 

Mr. FORAKER. If the Senator will allow me, I wish to sug¬ 
gest that the recognition of belligerency will not interfere with 
friendly mediation. We do not undertake by the recognition of 
belligerency to stop the war or to take part with either side, but 
simply to take a neutral position from which we can all the better 
interpose our friendly offices. 

2707 


25 


Mr. HOAR. I do not think we can do all of that, but I think 
the Senator says is quite true, that it will not interfere 

Mr. FORAKER. I will join with you, if this be adopted, in such 
an effort. 

Mr. DANIEL. Will the honorable Senator from Massachusetts 
permit me to ask him a question? I do not wish to interrupt or 
break the thread of his discourse. 

Mr. HOAR. I will yield. 

Mr. DANIEL. I observed on yesterday when the Senator was 
speaking—and I will quote his words from the Record as I find 
tnem- 

Mr. HOAR.^ Does it relate to what I am saying now? 

Mr. DANIEL. It is apropos of what the Senator is now dis¬ 
cussing. The Senator said: 


I tli nk tlio President of the United States should be asked by Congress to 
uso hv good offices with Spain to secure peace and independoneo in that 
island, and that is just what the Republican platform said. 


Then the Senator goes on to suggest that, having offered our 
friendly offices, finally, if these mediatory steps fail, we would 
say to Spain, “If you do not stop that war, we will stop it our¬ 
selves.” Are not those declarations of the Senator as to securing 
peace and his intimation that the time might come when he would 
say to Spain, “Stop that war,” predicated upon the recognition in 
his own mind that there is war now in Cuba with Spain? 

Mr. HOAR. Very well, suppose there is. 

Mr. DANIEL. Well, supposing there is, is it not proper for us, 
in the first place, to recognize the condition which will be the 
basis of our conduct in dealing with it? 

Mr. HOAR. Well, Mr. President, when we get the facts in an 
authoritative form, so that we can settle and affirm them, that 
question will become a practical one. It does not seem to me to 
affect the particular argument I am now making. 

Mr. DANIEL. Would not the natural and orderly procedure 
be first to proclaim and recognize the condition of things as intro¬ 
ductory to any method which we might see proper afterwards to 
employ to deal with it? 

Mr. HOAR. Mr. President, I will come to that in a moment 
when I deal with what I understand recognition of belligerency 
to mean. I do not understand that by tlio law of nations every 
condition of belligerency warrants interference or recognition. 
Indeed, I understood the honorable Senator from Ohio to ex¬ 
pressly affirm that belligerency exists in fact when hostilities exist 
too strong for the constable and where military forces are used 
on either side. The question for us whether a condition of things 
exists which, under the law of nations, makes it our duty to our¬ 
selves, having due regard to our own interests, to affirm the con¬ 
dition of belligerency, and if, there being a condition of belliger¬ 
ency, we make the affirmation—and I desire the attention of my 
friend from Ohio—if, there being a condition of belligerency, wo 
affirm and recognize and declare it, not because of our own in¬ 
terests, but from sympathy for or desire to aid one of the parties, 
we are then guilty of an unfriendly and hostile act to the other. 
This is the law. 

Mr. FORAKER. I argued, upon that very proposition, that it 
is a question for us to decide whether or not we will recognize bel¬ 
ligerency, governed by our own interests. 

2767 


26 


Mr. HOAR. I cite the authority of the eminent jurist from 
Ohio to that proposition and in answer to the inquiry of the Sen¬ 
ator from Virginia. But before I come to that- 

Mr. FORAKER. If the Senator will allow me, I say we are to 
decide that from the result to the Cubans and the counter result 
to us. That is a beneficial and a legitimate consideration. 

Mr. HOAR. Certainly. I was about, before coming to that, 
which was all I wish to detain the Senate about, to discuss and to 
point out ono very instructive fact in the letter of Mr. Secretary 
Olney which was not read, and which Senators will find there, 
and which may perhaps not excuse, not perhaps even palliate, 
but may account for some of the transactions which some of the 
Senators on the other side have dwelt upon with so much eloquenco 
and pathos. He says this war is conducted by the insurgents not 
by meeting their antagonists in pitched battles, but by applying 
the torch to the houses of peaceful citizens, destroying their in¬ 
dustries, burning their plantations, and starving out, or attempt¬ 
ing to starve out, the Spanish troops by destroying the entire 
resources of that island. 

That is what the Cubans are doing, according to the information 
which the honorable Senator from Ohio has furnished to the Sen¬ 
ate. Now, if that be true, and the American citizens w T ho are 
caught by the Spanish armies are doing that as their method of 
warfare, is it or not a violation of the laws of war and the laws of 
humanity to punish them with death for that offense? Who 
knows? Who answers? I should like a report from the Commit¬ 
tee on Foreign Relations on that particular proposition, if it shall 
become material. 

Senators talk about this recognition of belligerency stopping 
these things. I shall say a word about that presentty. But if we 
can act upon the authority which the Senator from Ohio says, 
we ought to act upon the Spanish Government. I am not affirm¬ 
ing this; I do not know; but he knows, and he tells us a good 
deal of what he knows, and a good deal he does not tell us because 
it is in strict confidence. 

Mr. FORAKER. I shall not keep it from the Senator. 

Mr. HOAR. I do not know what is in that paper, but this one 
thing the Senator tells us, that the Cubans have undertaken to 
throw off what used to be the lawful authority of Spain by saying 
they will turn that island into a wilderness and will burn over the 
heads of peaceful, neutral, unoffending citizens, women and chil¬ 
dren, the warehouses, the sugar houses, the factories, and the 
dwelling houses where they dwell, and will burn the plants on 
their plantations, not only the crop for the existing year—that is 
not in the paper, however, but that everybody has heard as a fact— 
but will destroy the entire plant, so that there shall be no new 
crop made for years to come. It is that war which Spain is en¬ 
gaged in putting down. 

Now, I do not know whether, if an American citizen or a Cuban 
be caught red-handed after setting that fire, it be lawful to put 
him to death or no. I have heard that some people, of whom the 
Senator from Virginia and the Senator from Alabama have heard— 
I will not revive any unpleasant memories—caught Northern Union 
soldiers burning a military bridge, and they v T ere put to death by 
a drumhead court-martial, without judge or jury, and not treated 
as prisoners of war. There is a good deal of evidence of that fact 
in the archives of this body. But that is merely in passing. 

2767 


27 


My honorable friend says that he admits that our interests aro 
affected, and to some extent injuriously, if we recognize belliger¬ 
ency, which we are to do for our interest, ho agrees, and not for 
the interest of the Cubans. All the eloquence, all the denuncia¬ 
tion of Spain, all the sympathy are admitted away by the inexo¬ 
rable logic of the honorable Senator from Ohio when he admits 
that it is not for these things we have a right under the law of 
nations to recognize belligerency. 

The whole argument of the honorable and eloquent Senator 
from Utah [Mr. Cannon], the whole argument of the honorable 
Senator from Illinois [Mr. Mason] yesterday, the wholo argu¬ 
ment of the honorable and very polite junior Senator from New 
Hampshire [Mr. Galunger] , are all gone, because none of those 
things, says the representative of the Committee on Foreign Rela¬ 
tions, warrants or affects our recognition of belligerency. It is a 
question of the interest of the United States. Now, we have that 
settled from the Committee on Foreign Relations. 

I say that the interest of the United States is against permitting 
Spain to search our vessels at sea anywhere she catches them, in¬ 
stead of having the flag protect any ship or cargo or crew unless 
Spain catches her within the 3-mile limit. Now, that is my first 
proposition. How does the honorable Senator answer it? He says 
that the right of search is bound to bo very politely exercised; that 
only one officer is allowed on hoard in the beginning, and if he 
suspects there is anything contraband of war, arms or gunpowder, 
muskets or cannon, or anything else, then ho can take the ship 
into a Spanish port, and if the Spanish judge thinks he was polite, 
he is not punished. 

If the Spanish judge, after a trial in a Spanish court, which 
may last years, finds there was no probable cause for the seizure, 
the vessel will be dismissed with costs; and if he finds there was 
probable cause for the seizure, for the suspicion, although in 
fact the ship did not have any such things aboard, or they were 
not intended for Cuba, then the vessel, after a three years’ deten¬ 
tion, is to bo dismissed without costs. And the Senator thinks 
that is not much of an injury. 

It is a very polite, agreeable, and pleasant kind of proceeding. It 
does not hurt the United States to have it happen, and to have it 
happen under tho control of such an authority as he has described 
Spain, irritated by our recognition of belligerency. 

Now, I wish to put against my honorable friend’s opinion, which 
I rate a great deal more highly than he does himself, with his 
great modesty, the opinion of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who said 
that the recognition of belligerency and tho right of search in 
Spain could not exist three months and have it possible to prevent 
a war with that nation. 

Mr. FOR AKER. Where did he say that? 

Mr. PIOAR. Either in his message to Congress or in one of his 
letters. 

Mr. FORAKER. I have his messages here, and he never said 
any such thing officially. That is sure. 

Mr. HOAR. I do not remember where he said it. 

Mr. FORAKER. I know what he said. 

Mr. HOAR. I know he said it. 

Mr. FORAKER. I know where he said what he did say, and 
if the Senator will allow me, I will read it. 

Mr. HOAR. He said a good many things. 

2767 


28 


Mr. FOR AKER. Ho was a great general and a great President, 
but not the greatest international lawyer this country has pro¬ 
duced. 

Mr. HOAR. Perhaps net. I know there are international 
lawyers greater. 

Mr. FORAKER. Here is what he does say: 

It would give rise to countless vexatious questions, would release the par¬ 
ent government from responsibility for acts done by the insurgents- 

Mr. HOAR. If the Senator wishes to read something else that 
General Grant said, I will yield. 

Mr. FORAKER. I was about to read upon the point to which 
the Senator referred. 

Mr. HOAR. He said what I have said on the point I referred to. 

Mr. FORAKER. In no official paper. He may have said it to 
the Senator when the Senator was visiting the White House. If 
the Senator will allow me, I will read it. 

Mr. HOAR. By all means. I should like to have it. 

Mr. FORAKER. Speaking of the consequences of belligerency, 
General Grant said in his message: 

Such recognition entails upon the country according the rights which flow 
from it difficult and complicated duties, and requires the exaction from the 
contending parties of the strict observance of their rights and obligations. 
It confers the right of search upon the high seas by vessels of both parties; 
it would subject the carrying of arms and munitions of war, which now may 
be transported freely and without interruption in the vessels of the United 
States, to detention and to possible seizure; it would give rise to countless 
vexatious questions, would release the parent Government from responsi¬ 
bility for acts done by the insurgents, and would invest Spain with the right 
to exercise the supervision recognized by our treaty of 1795 over our com¬ 
merce on the high seas. 

Upon tbat I have commented. 

Mr. HOAR. Read on. 

Mr. FORAKER. I will read as much as the Senator likes, but 
I do not like to interrupt him unduly. General Grant goes on to 
say that intervention will be necessary unless they shortly desist. 



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